Environment key to winning Games, says IOC official

No city can win a bid to host future Olympic Games if basic environmental requirements are not fulfilled, a key official of the IOC said. Pat Schmitt, chairman of the IOC Sport and Environment Commission, said environmental issues are paramount in the...

No city can win a bid to host future Olympic Games if basic environmental requirements are not fulfilled, a key official of the IOC said.

Pat Schmitt, chairman of the IOC Sport and Environment Commission, said environmental issues are paramount in the bidding process and cities hoping to host Games must prove their competence in dealing with the environment.

"Athletes want clean air, clean water and healthy food to compete at the top level. Besides, sustainable development and peace have been included in this criteria," Schmitt said in Nairobi.

He was speaking at the sixth World Conference on Sport and Environment at the UN Environmental Programme, which is based in Kenya.

Representatives of future Olympics attended the conference, held in Africa for the first time.

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